I like the Jim Morrison Faked His Own Death one, because I think it is somewhat plausible. He probably ended up getting eaten by lions in Africa, if it's true, but it's still plausible. It seems to me that he was the kind of person to set up such a complex hoax.

I'm not sure if McKenna's 2012 apocalypse really consists of a conspiracy, but whatever it is, it's definitely my favorite. Of anything. Ever.

Of the true conspiracies, though, my favorite would probably have to be the Order of Rosencreutz. Absolutely, without a doubt, a rennaisance prank that reverberates through the centuries to influence everything from the Holocaust to the Freemasons definitely has to win. It is truly a fascinating beast.

@frenchbloke - wow, they've got some interesting shit on that site. It could be rather fun just making stuff up for a site like that. Might have to do that later on. Also, based off of the headlines and intros to those stories, it's surprising how accurate of a character Rorschach from The Watchmen is. The whole super-right wing but still conspiracy crazy thing I mean.

EDIT:@roque - just finished reading the Goldgar thing. If all of that is the result of "curing" homosexuality, that's rather sad. Well, either way it's rather melancholy. Anyways, I'm almost tempted to try and convince someone that I was bred by the government for the purpose of hosting his dead brother's soul (brother 'died' in 1986, year I was born) so that it could use my mind as a psychic link, unknown to me, to plague his brother, Svengali style. I could get a pretty interesting story out of this...

the conspiracy boards are stuffed to the gills with some great plots for someone to collate and stick together with fine illustrations. I once wrote a short tale regarding operation highjump (the allied invasion / expedition of Antarctica in 1946 ), Nazi's, Aliens, how the whole Fatima visitation in Portugal was the largest UFO sighting with contact and has been covered up by the Vatican and countries around the world and how a crack team of priests dispatch any alien visitor that dared to come in peace along with a few twists involving Eisenhower meeting folk from the sky in 52 and not telling the pope. It was very silly.

I am filled with admiration at the guy selling his Steven King Killed John Lennon pamphlet. That's genius. I was almost willing to pay for that. I must start work on my own... how about Karl Rove is synthesising the SARs virus in his basement in order to unleash a new infantilist world order where the elite wear giant nappies and shake rattles shaped like ICBMs?

9/11 is making the conspiracy theorists jump for abulafiac joy. In just a few short weeks, I've been exposed to (through my credulous roommate's consumption) several different theories.9/11 was an inside job-- -- perpetrated by the CIA -- or by the Neocons -- or by Zionists inside the gov't --using-- -- explosive charges in the planes -- explosives in the buildings -- radio controlled drone planes -- government plants -- in order to -- -- force a one-world government. -- ensure the destruction of Isreal. -- get more oil.

And that's just one thread of the 9/11 conspiracies. I'm not even scratching the surface.

Speaking of Morrison...anyone heard the one where Jim Morrison never existed?

Yeah, apparently he was actually three guys: One guy that wrote lyrics, one guy that sung his voice, and one guy that played the part. The theory is that one of them died, and the other two went on with their lives.

It's interesting to me, that some rock stars get the "never died" treatment. Garcia, Elvis, Morrison...why do they get to live on through these theories and, say, Cobaine, Lennon, and Hendrix don't? I suppose it's that the first two are more useful as icons dead than they were alive.

Here's the way I look at conspiracy theories...I have no doubt the CIA, can assassinate ANYONE they want.But I don't think EVERY assassination is the work of the CIA.I'm reminded of that scene in one of the "Godfather" movies, where the old Mafia guy is getting protection money from everyone based on what the mob will do if they DON'T pay up...then it turns out there is no MOB behind the old guy, it's just a myth, a legend, or as Napoleon (Bonaparte, NOT Solo) once said "The reputation of power IS power."What better way to keep people in line, than to make them think their government, or a secret society or a global conspirarcy or The Big Church is watching their EVERY move?

are there any positive style conspiracy theories? I like Mckenna's 2012 because if I remember it correctly he wasn't saying the world was going to end in 2012 just that the information doubling(I forgot what the actual term is) was going to hit its apex dec 24th, which would mean the info doubling would happen every few seconds. I just remember him saying that he doesn't know what that actually means just that thats what his math showed. If thats the case what could cause that? some brain drug, a life extension breakthrough or what?

@offtandiscord - well the whole thing about the Mayans is they see the world as cyclical. Presently we're in the 5th iteration and it's not going to end... well it'll end for us, but the world will be reborn and humanity will be made again. Before there was fire, flood, something, something else. I think it's supposed to be super-jaguar death this time. Also, we're the blue corn people! I wonder what's next?

Super-jaguar death? Hell of a lot more stylish than dying in a flash of nuclear fire.

I guess we'll just have to keep monitoring the jaguars, lest they become super-jaguars.

On topic: favorite conspiracy is still the Moon Landing one (i.e., we never went to the Moon, it was just a soundstage and elaborate media hoax.) It sounds plausible until the people that believe it start explaining it, and my brain starts leaking out of my ears.